Setsuna Almark
Setsuna Almark (セトスナ・アルマーク, Arumaku Setsuna) is a Independant Mage, and a former S-Class Mage of the Shooting Star Guild- once, she was Karen Nagareboshi's partner. After a rather serious spat between the two, Setsuna packed up and left. Even to this day, Setsuna shares a strange connection with Karen and the two are shown to have a rivalry of sorts. Setsuna was also a former slave at the Tower of Heaven, and there, she was subjected to numerous, painful experiments which left her with an unnatural amount of magical power. Appearance A stunning young woman; Setsuna's beauty is rather notable. Possessing long, brunette hair that glistens in the moonlight, Setsuna's hair reaches down to her ankles. It is arranged sproadically; her bangs frame her face and extend down to her chin- on her forehead, the right side several clumps of hair splay out horizontally, varying in size and length. On the left side, clumps of hair only extend out horizontally slightly, though most are curved. At the top of her head, a slim forelock of hair sticks up, a cowlick of sorts. Her stunning emerald eyes shine radiantly. For attire, Setsuna doesn't have show any shame in revealing her glamourous figure. She wears a purple bustier, which she wears a red dress over it that possesses very high slits on both sides. She has blue feather-like attachements on her shoulders. Adorning her snow-white legs are stockings and garters, topped off with black stiletto boots. Personality and Traits Setsuna is a quiet and near-emotionless young woman, best shown in her first appearance, where she does not say a word or react to anything until she is issued orders to kill Kazuma Nakamura. Her quietness is not due to a lack of self-confidence however; it is because she does not fear anything; aside from her nightmares and that person. She has a "no-nonsense" attitude, and follows through with any order that her superiors set for her with unexpected determination, putting said order before anything else. Setsuna always remains bitter and apathetic towards other people, even though she is deeply traumatized, vulnerable, and rather sensitive, afraid and concerned about how other people might react to her horrific past as a slave. This is best shown when several people attempt to get her to open up to them to no avail, with her merely brushing them off wordlessly. She is also extremely calm, even in battle, and is very seldom surprised by even the most drastic of actions. Setsuna generally acts indifferent, bordering on arrogance, to most situations that she is faced with as seen from how she rarely views her opponent worth her time. Despite this trait, Setsuna is a very perceptive young woman and is fully aware of the limits of her abilities and usually anything she states in comparison to an opponent is justified. Setsuna greatly dislikes any physical contact, haphephobia; this stems from the incident that destroyed her emotionally, though it mainly applies to those of the opposite gender. Whenever a male touches her, even by accident, or if a man makes unneeded passes at her, she will go berserk and strike them violently, as she kicked Touma across a room for 'accidently' groping her chest. She dislikes the fact that she treats people the way she does, and longs to get over what happened to her in her past. This is best shown in her dreams, where after brushing off several people with her usual icy silence, stating that she hates them, she whispers "But I really hate myself." Setsuna has a great dislike of being mocked, and it is being insulted that makes her icyness shatter, giving rise to a cold fury. Setsuna is viewed as the treasure of Fiore, due to her beauty, power, and grace, and is revered and adored by all. However, a majority of these people do not know of her past. Setsuna's relationship with Karen is an strained one; before Karen became the Guild Ace, Shizuka always paid attention to Setsuna, treating her as her "pride" until Karen developed her abilities, leading Shizuka to seemingly ignore Setsuna; Karen, surprisingly, however, was always kind to Setsuna, and while Setsuna had loved her for that, deep down, she felt incredible jealousy and resentment towards her, which was the incentive for her to leave the guild. Despite this, Setsuna comes to Karen's aid without a second thought numerous times, often disregarding her own moral code. In the face of adversity, Setsuna has the uncommon ability to shun all emotions and shine a blank slate, thinking three to four steps ahead to clutch the pinch and seize control of the situation. Coupled with her vast intelligence, her detached emotional state is perhaps her greatest asset. Utilizing this ability, Setsuna was able to endure her trauma through that event, and only enters such a state when truly enraged. Setsuna has a habit of keeping a straight face whenever faced with a comical situation, as well as drooling when she sleeps. In addition, she is illiterate, a fact that Nika exploits in order to rile her up for her own personal amusement. Due to this, Setsuna is a horrible cook, despite whatever she cooks always appears beautiful. Due to her dyslexia, Setsuna unknowningly uses a lethal poison as a preservative. She has a distinct way of speaking. This manner of speech consists of a mix of sesquipedalian and a collection of verbal mannerisms that lack the usual sense of normal conversation, which emphasises her aloofness. History Synopsis Equipment Zeydra (ゼードラ, "Zeidora"; a pun upon "Dragon" (ドラゴン, doragon)): A unique weapon. It possesses two modes: Sword Mode (ソード・モード, "Sōdo Mōdo") and Rifle Mode (ライフル・モード, "Raifuru Mōdo"). It takes the form of a katana, with a blade composed of pure magical energy. Along with its principle blade, four stubby beams of magical energy are also emitted; Setsuna's fingers have limited protection from being caught in these beams due to small handguard. Being made of the same energy as the rest of the blade, the guard has the notable potential to stop the foe's blade from sliding down and slicing through the hilt, and by proxy Setsuna's hands. The rest of the blade is coloured a pure crimson; with a sparkling emerald gem embedded within the hilt. The unique material that the katana is forged from enhances the power of the sword by converting large amounts of magical particles into heat intense enough to melt most defenses on contact. The Zeydra is extremely sharp, and does not rely on the kinetic energy of a high-speed swing to cut through its targets. It is also covered with anti-magical energy coating, allowing it to parry even true magical weapons. When switched to Rifle Mode, the blade pivots from the hilt and rotates on its long axis, revealing a targeting sensor. The Rifle Mode can be used in either rapid fire mode, or be charged to deliver a single, high-powered blast for mass devastation. Powers and Abilities Physical Abilities Master Swordsmanship Specialist: When wielding her blade with Sword Magic, Setsuna sends herself into a trance, a unique state of mind that enables her to enjoy the fight, and relish the satisfaction of winning, releasing a constant and sizable stream of magical energy from her body, with a barely contained explosion of magical energy. When wielding her blade, her attacks appeared to be unconnected, her motions seemingly unpolished to an untrained observer. With her speed, it seems as if she is wielding many blades at once, moving too fast to see. Her attacks flow into each other with incredible precision, forming a constant near-invisible weave of energy. It should be noted that if Setsuna is not completely allowing her instincts to overwhelm her, then she cannot display her skill properly, leading her to remain unable to execute her sword techniques. She focuses on quick, precise strikes, always aiming to hit her opponent's vital points in battle. She uses misdirection in her attacks and even though doing so allows for holes in her defense she is more than capable of making it up with surprise attacks. She uses heavy, lightning-quick blows which aim to inflict immense damage upon her opponents, and can even splatter limbs if enough force is poured into the strike. She is able to strike multiple times with changes of attack type (from slash to pierce) without any difficulty. *'Ken'atsu' (剣圧, "Sword Pressure"): A basic ability which can be learned by almost everyone and their mother, but it sure is deadly if utilized properly. Gripping her blade with both hands, Setsuna unleashes an almighty slash, releasing a powerful blade of pressure that appears as faint ripples of wind at her foe at high speeds; this attack enables Setsuna to assault things which are out of her sword's range, sending slashes which fly through the air itself; and can even remain floating in it until the right moment to slash. These blades of wind possess incredible range and devastating power; and Setsuna has mastered this ability to the point that it can cut through barriers of magical energy. *'Gobōsei no Ken' (五芒星の剣, "Pentagram Sword"): Channelling magical energy into her blade, Setsuna performs a series of five slashes at blistering speeds in a pattern that resembles a star. Because of the speed that she swings her blade, it seems as if Setsuna has unleashed these blows concurrently, enabling them to all impact upon the foe's body at the same time. The slashes close on the enemy from all sides to create a prison, allowing no chance for defense or evasion. It should be noted that if her foe deflects one, then the others will surely hit, and due to the close range, if the opponent attempts to escape, her blade will quickly cut them down. However, during the process of slashing, a small opening is revealed for those with trained eyes: a tiny opening between her right arm and waist. Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Behind Setsuna's desceptively waifish frame is a master of street fighting, utilizing a style created by none other than Bruce Lee; the Jeet Kune Do. Jeet Kune Do is filled with non classical and straightforward movements. Due to the way this style works they believe in minimal movement with maximum effect and extreme speed. The system works on the use of different 'tools' for different situations. These situations are broken down into ranges (Kicking, Punching, Trapping and Grappling), with techniques flowing smoothly between them. Unlike more traditional martial arts, Jeet Kune Do is not fixed or patterned, and is a philosophy with guiding thoughts. Despite her lithe appearance; Setsuna is tremendously skilled in hand-to-hand combatant, which often takes her foes offguard. She prefers to bombard her opponent with a flurry of bone-shattering kicks delivered at breakneck speeds, though she will occasionally throw in a punch or two for good measure. While she prefers to utilize her innate powers, it has been shown that she is able to defeat even S-Class Mages with brute strength alone. Setsuna's incredible skill in the art is drastically enhanced by her inherent immense strength, giving her the ability to unleash devastating blows with ease. She has been shown to take down nearly Guild Aces with only the aesthetically pleasing butterfly kick. While fighting, Setsuna can also think on the spot, and come up with creative counterattacks against her enemies. *'Senshōha' (旋衝破, "Spinning Break"): Senshōha is a unique countering defensive hand-to-hand ability that Setsuna utilizes against projectile magic abilities, along with several other abilities such as elemental constructs. This is done by Setsuna utilizing her latent psychic powers to accelerate it more rapidly until it becomes a point. Then she uses her hand-to-hand combat prowess in addition to her psychic powers to "guide" the attack and redirect it. Essentially, taking an attack, but its power is accelerated into a drill that she then guides with her hands, spinning around and returning it the velocity of an projectile just as it contacts with her, before clutching it in her hands. Twirling it around, Setsuna throws it back at her opponent at twice the speed and force. However, Setsuna is still subject any secondary effects the attack could have. Furthermore there is always the danger that the attack could explode upon deacceleration as well. It is a "catch-and-throwback" ability that does not break the opponent's attack. Senshō, literally "spin-thrust", is a rarely-used kanji phrase for "spinning". *'Tsunagarenu Kobushi' (繋がれぬ拳, "Unchainable Knuckle"): Tsunagarenu Kobushi is an hand-to-hand attack capable of freeing Setsuna from binding spells. As such, due to this ability, binds and shields are useless against Setsuna. This is done by Setsuna activating her psychic powers the moment the binding spells close in; at the split second of catching her, she performs a forward thrusting movement while slapping her hands together, releasing a burst of pure concussive force which is directed and augumented by her magical powerrs and psychic powers to repel the spell and disintergrate it through sheer force. Monstrous Strength: Setsuna possesses phenomenal strength and superior hand-eye coordination. She is able to effortlessly block a punch from Gildarts Clive, giving her a Herculean level of strength, though she was still pushed back. Setsuna can break free from almost any attack that binds her and prevents her from moving. Setsuna was able to battle an S-Class Mage with her bare fists and is strong enough to break an enormous tree and swing it like a bat with one hand. She has enough power to break steel with her bare hands, and break through magic armour with some effort. A single swing of her arm had enough force to level a small hill. She can grab hold of Karen's Crane Sword with her bare hands without feeling any of the exerted force although that force was capable of doing considerable damage to the surrounding area. Another example of her impressive strength is when she caught several of Karen's kicks, which were stated to have the same power as a sledgehammer. Incredible Speed: While she possesses no skill with Speed Magic, Setsuna has shown to be immensely fast, befitting her small size and waifish build. Thanks to her tremendous raw power, Setsuna's leg strength allows her to more than make up for her lack of Speed Magic, allowing her to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between her and the opponent and even seemingly disappear from sight. In battle she is able to punch with incredible speed in rapid succession, making it highly difficult for her opponents to find an opening and counterattack. Setsuna is also shown to be able to outrun several opponents who were using Speed Magic, predicting where they would reappear and rushing to that location, before intercepting them, though it should be noted the four times that this tactic proved to be effective was against opponents who had only intermediate skill in Speed Magic. Setsuna has been stated repeatedly that she moves at a speed too fast for even Karen to comprehend. *'Enhanced Reflexes': Setsuna possesses tremendous reflexes, agility and speed; which, despite her being severely battle worn, usually enables her to dodge many a powerful projectile while balancing herself on one hand. She is also able to skillfully and acrobatically dodge a barrage of blasts; even by performing a side jump, and if the foe knocks her off a building, she is able to launch herself off of a few small falling rocks back towards her foe with ease. *'Skilled Acrobat': Small and spry, Setsuna is known for being highly flexible in battle- able to perform one-handed backflips, somersaults, and mid-air cartwheels with little effort in terms of physical strain. Setsuna is also known for rolling around on the ground to evade foes' attacks, as well as being able to perform multiple spins and tricks in mid-air. Immense Durability: Setsuna is unnaturally resilient; this is mostly due to her 'treatments', but partly it is the result of her own training. Her skin itself is unnaturally hard; as she is able to block sword strikes with a single finger without feeling anything, and occasionally she deflects elemental magic up to Dragon Slayer caliber with a single swipe of her hand. Even after suffering a fierce Crash onslaught by the hands of Gildarts Clive, Setsuna is still able to stand again and again without receiving tremendous physical harm. In addition, she can keep fighting despite suffering broken bones as if she never suffered those injuries in the first place. Magical Abilities Immense Magical Power: Even the Ten Wizard Saints have stated that Setsuna's magical power is more than a force to be reckoned with; a fact that Setsuna proves without a doubt. While Setsuna usually keeps it under control, when sufficiently angered, she can release it to its full extent. Due to her unique origins, Setsuna's magical power is unlike anything ever felt before. The presence it exudes is completely at odds with her personality and appearance; the magical pressure itself is a vibrant pink and pitch-black, crackling intensely when Setsuna focuses; when Setsuna's power is at it's peak, it transforms into the frightening visage of a Chinese dragon which surrounds her, striking fear into the hearts of her foes. It is so great it can be felt from a great distance and it has the tendency to make people perspire in fear. Her skill and control at using manipulating her magical aura allows her to perform a variety of abilities. When angered, Setsuna can shape her magical energy into that of a much more darker and frightening form, establishing a link between Setsuna's emotions and the emotions of those around her. In a way, this technique is hypnosis, or even a mental influence. The form that this "terror magic" takes the form of is that of a Tengu. Magic Destruction Magic Destruction Magic (壊滅魔法 ((デストラクチオン・マジク) , "Kaimetsu Mahō") is the signature Magic of Setsuna Almark; it is extremely powerful and devastating, compared to even Lost Magic in terms of power. In fact, when first showcased to the public, it was mistaken for a form of Black Arts, used by Black Mage Zeref, though Setsuna quickly debunked this theory; though she confirmed that she developed it by reverse-engineering Death Magic, adding in Crash and Fire Magic to the mix to create this overwhelmingly powerful form. Upon a seemingly harmless snap of her fingers, Setsuna amasses a vicious maelstrom of radiant, scarlet and raven magical energy upon her hands or anywhere else she desires; this energy almost appears as if it is a blazing hellfire that will extinguish the souls of her foes. With simple or even complex hand movements, Setsuna launches this powerful energy at her foes in unrestrained waves which usually cover a large distance, directing it towards her target. The energy is touted to chase Setsuna's foe to the ends of the earth, no matter where the foe is standing, even if they possessed high speed, as it would catch her foe eventually. The energy can move at impossible angles, that always manages to reach its target; it will always change its path around any obstacles or pierce through any wall in order to reach its target. However, as a downside, the energy is easy to deflect and dissipate if one knows how to. As it moves though the atmosphere, it gathers and condenses stray magic particles and absorbs it into the energy to increase in speed. *'Condensed Destruction': Setsuna can condense and shift the size of the Destruction Magic waves in the form of a small sphere, thus packing more power into a more manageable form to control much easier—or so it seems. Due to the destruction magic being far more compressed within the form of a sphere, it packs far more power and possesses a lot more speed to the point that more often than not, the foe cannot comprehend the velocity of this sphere, enabling Setsuna to vanquish her target without a trace, but the truth is that this condensed form is extremely difficult to control; as little by little, the compression is being undone as the sphere moves around, leading it to randomly accelerate and decelerate, resulting in Setsuna having no control over it's speed and flight path; though it manages to keep it's overwhelming power intact at all times. However, she can focus her power into numerous highly mobile small spheres to circumvent the defenses of her target, resulting in minimal damage to the surroundings. *'Human-Sized Destruction Magic': On a whim, Setsuna can amass the energy of her Destruction Magic around her body, forming a "casing" of sorts that instills the visage that she is encased in an armour of pure destruction. In truth, she is converting her own bodily properties into Destruction Magic, augmenting her offensive, defensive, and mobility parameters drastically. Now, with a single touch, she can unconsciously or consciously obliterate anything she touches regardless of will; and for the record, most magical projectiles will disintegrate upon impact with her new body. At a moment's notice, Setsuna can use her Destruction Magic emanating from her hands and focus it upon her own body in this form, materializing beings of pure destructive energy shaped in her exact likeness, which can serve as diversions, extra attacking force, or she can even launch these clones at her foes as volatile explosives. *'Destruction Seekers': One of her most advanced techniques; with this spell, Setsuna channels her Destruction Magic outwards, manifesting it as several small cannon-shaped pods of pure destructive energy, a stained scarlet and jet-black series of hovering turrets that surround her. Using a variant of Telepathy, Setsuna is constantly sending signals from her brain to these pods, creating a communication network that enables her to move them around the area almost effortlessly. These pods unleash condensed blasts of Destruction Magic which appear similar to lasers at her foes; she prefers to use them to attack her foes from long-range and often in conjunction with other spells. They can also be used in group formations for multiple barrages. The one downside to this spell is that maintaining the Destruction Seekers requires a large amount of both mental and magical power, so obviously keeping them out for extended periods of time places a large amount of strain upon her, leading her to only bust out this spell in dire times. Take Over Take Over (接収(テイクオーバー) , Teiku Ōbā) is an advanced transformation spell utilized by various mages. It enables Setsuna to take over the power of a creature or person and use it to fight. It drastically increases her power, strength, and speed even adding a new skill such as flying or swimming. However, it can only draw out the power of beings she truly knows. Due to the experiments performed upon her at the Tower of Heaven, Setsuna was infused with the "magical essence" of a certain dragon, Ddraig (ドライグ, Doraigu), granting her the unique spell Take Over: Dragon Soul. However, it should be noted that at the time she was forced to absorb the dragon's essence, it was in a dying state, and thus, it had it's powers reduced drastically, leading Setsuna to produce only a moderately powerful Take Over. Upon activating Dragon Soul, Take Over temporarily removes the seal placed on the dragon, but Setsuna will lose her sanity while her life is devoured by this overwhelming, unfathomable power. It should also be taken into consideration that Setsuna cannot activate a full-body Take Over, leading her to only change parts of her physiology into that of separate draconic limbs; though this doesn't make the ability any less deadly. When in Dragon Soul, Setsuna's magical energy surrounds her, before compressing upon her body and solidifying, merging with Fire Magic in order to reappear as a draconic full-body armour that is inspired by medieval, futuristic, and even mythological armours. Possessing several shining emerald gems upon her elbows, backs of her hands, chest, knees, and feet, this armour is illuminated illustriously by the fires sprouting from her body. The armour that covers her arms, abdomen, and legs appears very similar to a dragon's spine, jutting out in a funnel-like shape to provide extra protection. There are several golden protrusions on her hips, elbows, and jaws that appear similar to a dragon's fangs. The pauldrons of the suit are rounded, yet they retain that dragon-like feel. Lastly, the helmet which covers her face allows her green eyes to be represented and possesses a crimson half-crown that adorns the metal; overall, it is a fearsome sight to behold. *'Dragon Install' (竜変身(ドラゴン・インストール) , doragoninsutouru, Japanese for "Draconic Transformation"): Setsuna amasses massive amounts of flame on her back and forming gigantic wings of flame; also granting her the ability of flight. Her new speed is so great, that it also enhances her movements drastically and allows her to create dozens of afterimages to confound her opponent. Unlike regular afterimages, these images still contain mass, allowing Setsuna to pull off numerous blows to her opponent from all angles. At a single thought, Setsuna can disengage the mass, reverting them to normal afterimages. Setsuna's speed appears to create up to eight doubles of herself while in motion. These doubles are not illusory; she is moving at a speed between different positions that is faster than the speed of sound. As such, were all the doubles to attack at once, it would mean that Setsuna is attacking from all those positions simultaneously, giving her incredible destructive power. Similarly, because of this same speed, attacking the doubles would be futile as Setsuna would have moved long before the attack even reaches her. It should be noted that the expansion of these flames produced on her back produces a crimson sphere of solidified flame, causing it to become essentially an energy ball that surrounds her as she moves. Setsuna mainly utilizes this to fly in like a meteor, dealing damage as she moves. *'Scale Mail' (赤龍の鎧(スケイ・ルメイル) , sukeirumeiru, Japanese for "Armour of the Crimson Dragon"): By vibrating the flames that composes the armour at supersonic speeds, Setsuna causes friction within the armour, setting them ablaze. This has the added effect of causing the armour to take upon a vibrating form, causing the flames to surround her body in a continually rippling manner, whirling around her body all the while. This essentially creates an extremely sturdy defensive armour around the actual armour that allows Setsuna to not only increase her defensive power, but also her physical power as the flames are constantly surrounding her body and flowing in and out as well as spinning around her. Setsuna's usage of this technique is shown through the increase in density of her magical energy. When alight, Setsuna's arms and legs deal twice the damage they would normally output; she can also unleash waves of fire up to and including fireballs that cause a large amount of damage from her hands and feet on a whim at a rapid pace, allowing her to constantly bombard her foe with a seemingly never-ending shower of flames. *'Dragon Shot' (竜力弾(ドラゴンシ・ョット) , doragonshotto, Japanese for "Dragon Power Bullet"): Setsuna's ultimate attack in Dragon Soul; she raises the Zeydra to the skies, piercing the heavens. There, it gathers and condenses stray magical energy upon the blade, which is converted to the fire element. Holding the "black sun" in her hands, this sun expands and transforms into a large magical circle with a sun in the center, before imbuing her body in flame, intensifying the kinetic energy that is about to be released by convergence and acceleration, she unleashes a massive horizontal slash of flame that erupts outwards and "purifies the very soul", releasing a truly enormous wave of fire that mows through the surface of the earth. While the result is what looks like a massive wave of flame, only the tip of the attack, which is a arc is capable of doing damage, as the arc is the result of the inversion of everything the attack destroys in its path. Dragon Shot is most useful when activated towards the end of a battle between high-level opponents, since the area will be saturated with excess energy from their attacks. It is a recycling of the magical energy just used and spread over the battlefield. Therefore, even though Setsuna has been exhausted from magical energy, the ability can still be invoked. *'Full Body Take Over: Ddraig Promotion' (赤龍王変化(ドライグ・プロモーション), Doraigu Promōshon, Japanese for "Crimson Dragon King Metamorphosis"): Setsuna's ultimate technique; while it has been proven that she cannot perform a full-body Take Over, it has also been shown that with some assistance by consuming lacrima, she indeed can access the power of the Crimson Dragon King and take upon his fearsome visage. When in this form, Setsuna takes upon the form of a massive crimson western dragon with seven heads and green eyes. Ddraig is actually a reference to the Biblical Satan in Revelations 12:3, where he takes the form of a seven-headed dragon. It should also be noted that Setsuna dislikes utilizing this technique not because of the extreme power, but because Ddraig's personality takes over; who is rather similar to Karen; Setsuna compares Ddraig's (and thus, Karen's) personality with a bike gang delinquent claiming that the the dragon travels around Fiore doing "crazy moves" and getting "pissed off" at people staring at him. **'Flight': Being a dragon, Ddraig, and thus Setsuna possesses the ability to fly; using her large wings to travel over long distances and at high speeds, manoeuvre high up in the air and perform aerial assaults on those below her. However, due to Ddraig's personality taking charge, Setsuna more often than not finds herself showing off incredible displays of acrobatics without even thinking of taking such actions; this sometimes results in her crashing without warning. Trivia Category:Persona Superior Deus Category:PersonaSuperiorDeus Category:Characters Category:Female Category:Original Characters Category:Shooting Star Guild Category:Independent Mage Category:Caster-Mage Category:Mage